


The Girl on the Steps

by chelsmels



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Break Up, Comfort, Fanboys - Freeform, Fangirl Dreams, Fangirls, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Second meeting, She Can Only Dream, The Life the Author Wanted, dealing with breakup, idolverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelsmels/pseuds/chelsmels
Summary: The first time they met (Woohyun did not know at that time that they will have more than one encounters) he was strolling the streets of London aimlessly.(A story about chance encounters and forging bonds)





	1. The Girl on the Steps

**Author's Note:**

> This is truly my first ever attempt in writing a fic. But it was abandoned before I could finish it, however due to much encouragement from msinpinitu/kpumsy, I managed to finally complete this fic. (It was written at a time where I'm a light Directioner, hence the cameo by Niall Horan.) Anyway, happy reading and please let me know what do you think! 

The first time they met (Woohyun did not know at that time that they will have more than one encounters) he was strolling the streets of London aimlessly. He slipped out of the hotel several hours after their concert dressed as inconspicuously as possible. He needed to relieve some tension – as much as he loved his job and adored his fans, performing night after night took some toll on his body.

He’d just turn round a corner when he heard something. Woohyun stood frozen. Not that he was scared, _of course not, he scoffed,_ but it _was_ almost three in the morning and the street was sort of dark and it was a weird sound. Woohyun stood still for a moment more, waiting to see if he’d heard wrongly. He was about to continue walking when he heard it again. It sounded like someone was trying to choke back a sob.

Woohyun managed to locate the source of the sound. Someone sat huddled against a pillar on the steps of a building about five meters away. Woohyun was about to leave when he heard sniffles and another attempt to choke back a sob. Deciding that he couldn’t exactly leave someone crying on the steps of a building at freaking three o’clock in the morning, Woohyun plopped down next to the figure. He knew that the girl noticed his presence by the way she stiffened as soon as he was seated. She had her head on her knees as her arms wrapped around her leg and Woohyun could tell that she’s trying harder to stifle her sobs when she realized she was no longer alone. She made no effort to acknowledge his presence so Woohyun just sat there quietly next to her.

He had no idea how long they’d been sitting there on the steps. Him, just sitting there looking at the buildings across the street and counting the number of windows there were and her crying softly. When the crying seemed to have stopped, Woohyun turned to the stranger and asked in English, **_“_ ** **Are you okay?** ** _”_ **

The girl stiffened at the sound of his voice. She was quiet for a moment and then she lifted her head from her knees. Her eyes were slightly puffy from her crying, Woohyun noted. He tried not to fidget as she stared at him, feeling a little self-conscious about how he looked without makeup. She wiped her tears. **_“_ ** **I’m fine** , ** _”_ **

Woohyun nodded. He looked at his watch. 3:35am. “Um,” he tried to recall all the English words that he had crammed into his head. “ **It is late** ,” he showed her the time “ **Go home.** Um, **walk or um, car, um** , damn it’s hard. How do I say this? Do you live nearby? Are you walking back? Or do you have a car?” he gave up halfway and just mimed the actions as he asked in Korean.

“Korean?” she asked.

“Oh! You speak Korean? That’s great. You should head back home now. It’s late and it’s dangerous for a girl to be alone out here. How are you getting back?”

The girl shook her head. **“I had no idea what you’ve just said. I know some Korean because I watched dramas, but I don’t really understand it,”**

Woohyun sighed. He could not understand what she’d just said but he managed to catch the word ‘drama’.  From that, he deduced that the girl could tell that he’s Korean possibly because she’d been watching Korean dramas and she sorta knew how Korean sounded like.

Woohyun showed her the time again. “ **It’s late** ,” he said as she nodded. “ **Dangerous. Go home** ,” he tried his best to convey his message.

The girl seemed to understand what he’s trying to say. She nodded and showed him the international gesture for okay. Just as he was about to ask (or more like mime) how she’s getting back home, her phone rang. She flashed him an apologetic smile before answering the call. He doesn’t understand most of what she’s saying to the other person on the line, but he managed to catch a few words that he knew. _Fine, don’t worry, I’m okay, on my way back._

When she ended the call, she turned around and looked at Woohyun.

“ **I’m going back now. My friend is giving me a ride back – he’s just around the corner**.” She said as she stood up. Woohyun stood up as well, dusting his pants. “ **You can leave now. Thanks though, for keeping me company, I guess** , _”_

Woohyun cocked his eyebrow. It was the girl’s turn to hem and haw, trying to communicate with him. “Friend, **driving** ,” she mimed her hands on the steering wheel. “ **Me** , _”_ she pointed at herself. “ **Home** , _”_

Understanding what she’s trying to tell him, Woohyun signed okay.

“ **You should leave too. I’m okay** _”_ she pointed at him and gestured for him to leave with a smile.

Woohyun shook his head. _“_ **Wait together** _”_ he grinned.

Her smile widened and she nodded. They stood in comfortable silence. Woohyun stole a glance at her. She looked pensive and her eyes sad. _At least she’s not crying anymore_ , he thought.

A car pulled up and honked twice. The girl waved at it and then turned to face Woohyun.

 _“_ **That’s my friend. Thanks again for keeping me company** , _”_ she surprised him by giving him a quick hug. _“_ **Bye. Thank you** , _”_ she started walking towards the car.

Woohyun had no idea why but his hand shot out to grab onto her elbow, turning her around. _“_ **Are you okay? Really**? _”_ he had to ask again.

A sad smile appeared on her face as she gave a small nod. _“_ **I’ll be okay** _,”_ then a happier smile. “I’m fine. Thanks”

Woohyun nodded as she walked towards the car. He watched as she got in, wind down the window and waved at him as the car drove off. Woohyun waved until the car was out of his sight before he started walking back towards the hotel.

It wasn’t until he was back in his room that he realized that she had spoken to him informally as she thanked him. _Probably learnt that from the dramas_ , he shrugged and went to bed.

\--

The next time they met (well, not really) was during one of the rare off days Infinite had, where the members lazed around the dorm doing absolutely nothing just because they could.

Woohyun was channel surfing, trying to find something to watch on TV when a loud wail came from Myungsoo’s room. A few seconds later, Myungsoo came out from his room looking like someone had died. He walked straight to where Woohyun was on the couch and buried himself into Woohyun’s chest. Woohyun started to get really worried as he patted Myungsoo’s back as he muttered “No, no, no, no,”

“Myungsoo-ah, what’s wrong?”

Myungsoo pulled back from the hug and wailed “Hyung, my OTP. It’s over. My OTP _died_. How could this happen? NOOOOOO”

“What the hell are you going on about, Soo?”

Myungsoo shoved his phone at Woohyun’s face. Woohyun grabbed the phone and started to read the news article that had caused Myungsoo’s mental breakdown.

“Hyung, Niall Horan and Anna broke up! My OTP! Why? They are so perfect together. Their story is like a fairy tale. I thought they were going to last forever. Why?” Myungsoo ranted as Woohyun read.

It was not a known fact. But Kim Myungsoo is a Directioner. He fanboys over the One Direction boys like how Inspirits fangirl over Infinite. It is all thanks to Myungsoo that Infinite knows of the terms OTP, slash, fanfiction, shipping and many more.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. The news article was about the breakup of Niall Horan of One Direction and his girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend) of a year, Anna Lee. Apparently, the couple had split about two months ago. It was an amicable breakup and the two remained friends. Now, normally Woohyun wouldn’t give two shit about celebrity breakups, especially those that he had no idea who’s who.

But, he definitely knew someone in this relationship. Although the girl in the photo accompanying the news article looked slightly different in a gown with full makeup on next to who Woohyun assume is Niall Horan in a tux, he’s sure that this is the crying girl on the steps from that one night in London months ago.

“…and we’ve been waiting forever for them to get together, you know? And they did, but now they broke up? What? They are meant to be together!”

“Soo-ah, who’s she? Is she famous?” Woohyun asked.

 _Well, that was unexpected_ , Myungsoo thought. He fully intended to just rant his displeasure over the news of the sudden breakup, not expecting his hyung to be interested in the matter at all. Normally when Myungsoo got into one of his fanboy rants, his members would just tune him out while pretending to be listening. He knew they were not listening, but it didn’t matter to him. He just needed to get things off his chest.

“If you mean if she’s a celebrity, then no, she’s not. But she is quite well-known in the fandom,” Myungsoo explained.

And that’s how Woohyun learned more about the crying girl he met. From what he could pick out of Myungsoo’s two-hour rant, Anna was a One Direction fan who lucked out by bumping into one of the boyband members at a concert venue and somehow became close friends with the group. One thing lead to another, she started dating one of them (“It was fan-approved, well, mostly” Myungsoo said).

“It’s so sad though that they broke up,” Myungsoo sighed. “At least it says here that it was amicable and they remained friends,”

Woohyun thought back to that night months ago when Anna was crying on the steps in the middle of the night and thought to himself that perhaps the breakup wasn’t entirely amicable.

\--

The next time they met was at one of Woohyun’s solo album fansign event. Woohyun looked up from the album placed in front of him to greet his fan and he was shocked. Sitting in front of him with a bright smile is Anna.

“Hi,” she greeted. “Do you remember me?”

Woohyun didn’t know what he was more surprised at, the fact that she’s here in Seoul or that she spoke Korean to him. He snapped out of the shock he felt and started to autograph the album dedicating it to ‘Anna’.

“Of course I do. **Are you okay**?” he replied as he handed the album back to her. Her smile got wider when Woohyun confirmed that he knew who she was. She glanced down at the album and Woohyun could tell that she was surprised that he knew her name. She looked up and gaped at him, raising an eyebrow as though asking “How?”

“What are you doing here in Seoul? Did you know who I was before? What are you doing here?” Woohyun asked, a little excited.

Anna smiled “It’s a long story. But I’m here because I’m a fan supporting my favourite Infinite member’s solo,” she had problem pronouncing certain words and Woohyun found that a little endearing.

“You’re my fan? Daebak! C’mere and give me a hug,” Woohyun stood up and reached out for a hug despite objections from his manager.

Screams from his fans filled the hall. Woohyun kept the hug short and brief. When he released her, Anna looked a little flustered and her cheeks brightened.

“Thank you for supporting my album. Keep in touch,” he says as she started to walk away from the table, sending her off with a few finger hearts. He could see that she’s confused about his choice of words. He laughed and turned his attention to the next fan.

“Hi, how are you?” he greeted.

He sincerely hoped that Anna gets his message.

\--

An hour later when the fansign was over, Woohyun was in the car on his way to his next schedule when he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He hoped he didn’t imagine the vibration signaling a text notification earlier during the fansign.

He unlocked the device and smiled upon seeing a Kakao-talk text message from an unknown user:

_I’m fine. Thanks!_

In banmal.


	2. The Guy on the Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna's POV

Anna didn’t know how long she’d been sitting on these steps, huddled against the pillar, crying her eyes out. All she could remember was her rushing out of the restaurant after an awkward ‘goodbye, thank you for your time, but I think we were better off as friends’ hug following an even more awkward ‘I thought this is a romantic dinner, but turns out you want to talk about our breakup’ date. She remembered walking around the city aimlessly and finally decided to take refuge on these steps when the tears she’d been trying to hold back escaped. 

 

She knew she was no longer alone when she sensed someone took a seat next to her. The person didn’t exactly invade her personal space, but the sudden presence of another person after hours of solitude was a bit jarring and to be honest, very uncomfortable.  _ Can’t you see I’m crying here? Some space would be nice,  _ Anna thought as she tried to control her sobs and sniffles. 

 

Anna sneaked a peek at the person between her arm and knees; it was a guy in his mid-twenties and he looked harmless enough. Apart from the fact that he was sitting on the steps next to a crying girl in the middle of the night, he was decidedly as normal as a person could be. He was looking across the streets without acknowledging Anna’s presence. For some reason, that provided her with a sense of companionship. Without her knowing it, her sobs subsided till she was just sitting there with her head between her knees, thinking calmly about what happened a couple of hours ago. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

Anna was startled by the sudden question. She took several calming breaths before looking over at the guy. After staring at the guy for a few seconds, she wiped at her tears and replied, “I’m fine,” 

 

Nodding at her response, the guy looked at his watch. “Um,” he seemed to struggle with what to say for a moment and then pointed to his watch. “It is late. Go home. Um, walk or um, car, um,” and then he started speak in another language that sounded familiar to her ears. 

 

“ **Korean?** ” 

 

The guy nodded, visibly brightened and continued speaking to her in the foreign language. Anna shook her head and held up her hands as though to stop his speech. “I had no idea what you’ve just said. I know some Korean because I watched dramas, but I don’t really understand it,” 

 

The guy sighed. After a while, he decided to try again. He showed her the time. “It’s late,” he said. Anna nodded. “Dangerous. Go home,” Somehow, the guy’s attempt at communication warmed her heart. Anna gave him the ‘okay’ gesture to let him know that she understood him. The guy was about to say something when her phone rang. She flashed him an apologetic smile before answering the call. 

 

“Hello?” 

 

“Where are you?” 

 

Anna sighed. “Harry, I’m fine. I’m at the steps right opposite Grub Street,”

 

“What are you doing there in the middle of the night? Are you okay?” her friend sounded anxious. 

 

“I assumed he told you? Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m on my way back,” 

 

“He’s a twat, but yeah, he just told me. Asked me to check on you since you haven’t been answering his texts and he’s worried,” 

 

Anna snorted. “Well, excuse me for not wanting to respond to any texts from the guy who broke up with me just hours ago,” 

 

She heard a long sigh from the other end of the line. “I’ll come and get you, yeah? I’m around the area,” Anna gave him an affirmative response and disconnected the call. It was then that she realised the guy was still seated next to her. 

 

“I’m going back now. My friend is giving me a ride back - he’s just around the corner,” she stood up and from the corner of her eyes, she noticed the guy doing the same. “You can leave now. Thanks though, for keeping me company, I guess,” she told him. 

 

The guy just gave her a puzzled expression. Now, it was Anna’s turn to struggle with what to say. “ **Friend** ,” she uttered the Korean word she knew from watching dramas, “Driving,” she mimed her hands on the steering wheel. “Me,” she pointed at herself. “Home,”  _ Gosh, this is kind of silly. Is this how he felt earlier?  _ Anna thought. 

 

Thankfully, the guy seemed to have understood her as he signed the ‘okay’ gesture. 

 

“You should leave too. I’m okay,” Anna pointed at him and gestured for him to leave. 

 

The guy shook his head and grinned. “Wait together,” 

 

_ That’s so nice of you _ , Anna thought. She found herself smiling back as she nodded. They stood waiting in comfortable silence. After a while, Anna saw Harry’s car pulled up. She waved at him after the two honks and turned to the guy by her side. 

 

“That’s my friend,” Then said “ **Friend** . Thanks again for keeping me company,” Anna didn’t know what came over her, but she pulled the guy into a quick hug. “Bye. Thank you,” 

 

As she walked towards the car, she felt a hand grabbed onto her elbow and turned her around. “Are you okay? Really?” the guy asked, his face concerned. 

 

Anna nodded. It is true that she might not be completely okay right now, but she believe that she will be fine. “I’ll be okay,” she smiled, and then recalled a few words she learnt from the dramas, “ **I’m fine. Thanks,”**

 

As she settled into the passenger seat, she wound down the window and waved at the guy. She kept waving until the car turned at a junction.  _ It’s nice to know there is some kindness in the world, _ she sighed as she wound the window back up.

 

When they stopped at the traffic light, Harry asked, “Who was that?” 

 

Anna shrugged. “Dunno. A random kind stranger,” she told him as she let her gaze wander. A billboard right across the street caught her eye. Right there on the poster that said “2015 INFINITE 2ND WORLD TOUR IN LONDON: INFINITE EFFECT” was the guy on the steps. 

 

\--

 

Different people dealt with breakup differently. Some go on a dessert binge. And for some, a party streak. Anna, on the other hand, dived into a whole new world of Kpop. After she saw the billboard poster of the guy on the steps, the first thing Anna did when she got home was pull out her phone and searched ‘Infinite Effect London’. 

 

One thing led to another and now Anna could recite all the names of the members. She’d watched all of the variety shows the idol group was in, and downloaded their whole discography. She may or may not have ordered a few of their concert DVDs from Amazon too. 

 

As she was part of a fandom prior to this, Anna was familiar with fanfics and she might have found a whole new world of fanfics in this fandom. Anna distracted herself from her breakup by immersing herself in all-things-Infinite. She knew Harry had something to say about her newfound obsession, but he held himself back. He was giving her time to overcome her breakup in her own ways. 

 

And Anna sincerely appreciated that. 

 

\--

 

When the news of the breakup broke and she was hounded by press left and right, Anna locked herself in her flat for a whole week. When Harry came by to drop off some groceries, he saw her sprawled on the couch with her laptop on her stomach. He gave her a look when she told him she decided to learn the Korean alphabets and language. 

 

“What? I can’t go to classes this week and I’m stuck in the flat. Might as well be productive about it,” she retorted. Harry couldn’t argue with her logic so he dropped the issue. 

 

\--

 

Anna knew it started of as a coping mechanism, but somewhere along the way, she was in too deep for it to be labelled as just a passing fancy. While she liked the whole group as a whole, she knew she would always have a soft spot for the guy who would spend an hour sitting on the steps next to a stranger just because she was crying alone in the middle of the night. 

 

Nam Woohyun, to her, was a kind soul before he was an idol. 

 

\--

 

“Are you really going to do this?” Harry asked over dinner. Anna looked up to find that everyone at the table is looking at her. She cocked an eyebrow as though to ask “What?”

 

“Are you really going to accept the internship offer?” he clarified. 

 

“Of course, it’s a wonderful opportunity,” 

 

“But it’s one-year program! You’re gonna be away for a whole year!” Louis whined. 

 

“That’s the point! I can’t wait to get away from you losers,” Anna joked as she sipped on her beer. She noted with glee as Niall tensed a little at her remark and figured that what she just said could be interpreted differently. She flashed him a smile to reassure him that they were okay. No hard feelings. While they were not as close as they used to be before they dated, they remained friends. “Plus, I might run into Infinite on the streets and all my fangirl dreams will true!” she added with mirth. 

 

The boys groaned. “What’s so great about them anyway? They can sing, but so can we,” Liam complained. Infinite had always been a sore spot for the boys as they had front row seats to how Anna “left” their fandom and joined  _ theirs.  _ Countless times of “Hey, check out this song. Don’t they sound awesome?” and “They’re so adorable, oh my gosh, look!” had further flamed their annoyance. 

 

Anna laughed. “Well, they can dance, but the same couldn’t be said about you lads,” 

 

Luckily, she managed to dodge the flurry of peanuts aimed towards her. 

 

\-- 

 

She couldn’t believe her luck. A few weeks after she arrived in Seoul for her internship, Woohyun’s solo debut was announced. Just like any other Woohyun fan, she had been waiting for this, perhaps maybe not as long as the others, but she had been. To top it all, she somehow managed to secure a spot at his album fansign event. 

 

“Wow, that’s great,” Harry drawled when she told him about it during their phonecall. 

 

“You couldn’t sound any more enthusiastic than that. Wow,” 

 

“What do you expect me to say? Besides, how many copies of the album did you buy in order to get picked for the event?” 

 

Anna changed the subject then and quickly hung up. No, her friend didn’t need to know how much she’d spent for that opportunity. 

 

\-- 

 

After much convincing, and perhaps some little white lies, Anna managed to get a day off from her internship to attend the fansign. 

  
She still couldn’t believe that she was actually attending Woohyun’s album fansign. She stood waiting in line (four more fans before her turn), watching as he spoke to the fan in front of him with a gentle smile and Anna was reminded of the kind stranger who offered her support that night on the steps months ago. 

 

Before she knew it, it was her turn. She passed her album copy to the manager at the end of the table before taking a seat in front of the idol. Woohyun accepted the album from his manager and looked up at her. Anna could see a spark of recognition in his eyes when they locked gaze. 

 

“Hi,” she greeted and decided to try her luck. “Do you remember me?” 

 

Woohyun seemed taken aback at the fact that she spoke Korean. He snapped out of it and proceed to autograph the album. 

 

“Of course I do,” he smiled as he handed back the album. “ **Are you okay?** ” he asked in English. Anna was pleasantly surprised that he remembered. When she glanced down at the album and noticed that he dedicated it to ‘Anna’.  _ Weird, I don’t remember telling him my name.  _

 

“What are you doing here in Seoul? Did you know who I was before? What are you doing here?” Woohyun asked, sounding a little excited. 

 

She chuckled. “It’s a long story. But I’m here because I’m a fan supporting my favourite Infinite member’s solo,” 

 

“You’re my fan? Daebak! C’mere and give me a hug,” Woohyun stood up and pulled her into a hug despite objections from his manager. Screams from his fans filled the hall and Anna could feel her cheeks flushed. 

 

“Thank you for supporting my album. Keep in touch,” he called out as Anna started to walk away from the table.  _ Huh, what does that mean?  _ She must have looked really confused because Woohyun just laughed, sent her a few finger hearts and waved. 

 

\-- 

 

It wasn’t until later when she was on the bus back to her small “studio apartment” that she found out what he meant. 

 

On a separate page in the photobook, Woohyun had scribbled his Kakao ID, a short “Text me!” and a few badly drawn emoticons. 

 

Anna laughed and pulled her phone out. She spent a few minutes wondering what to say before she decided on  _ ‘I’m fine. Thanks!’  _ in banmal, a nod to their first meeting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda inspired the other day to write more for this story and through some talks with my friends, I can see the story expanding. Even though I kinda have a rough idea of where I want the story to go, we'll just have to wait and see where it leads me. 
> 
> Let me know what you think :) Any ideas? Things you would like to see happening? Let me know.


End file.
